Summer reading issue features Stephen King

Pick up a copy of this Sunday’s print edition of The Mercury for Parade’s Summer Reading issue featuring an interview with writer Stephen King.

King talked to PARADE about his new book “Joyland,” his favorite entertainment, and why he doesn’t watch the TV series “Mad Men.”

King, 65, continues to write accessible stories at a remarkable rate. Joyland, a paperback original, is due in stores June 4 and has already been optioned for the big screen. A series based on his 2009 novel “Under the Dome” will air on CBS later this summer, and his musical-theater collaboration with John Mellencamp, “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County,” begins a tour of American cities this fall.

A few highlights from the interview in Sunday’s Parade:

On the fact that Joyland, his new book, isn’t a horror novel: “I’ve been typed as a horror writer … but I never saw myself that way. I just saw myself as a novelist. With ‘Joyland,’ I wanted to try my hand at the whodunit format.”

On his daily writing regimen: “I wrote 1,500 words this morning. Five pages a day, that’s usually what I get through.”

On why he and his two novelist sons show their work to his wife, Tabitha: “She’ll say, ‘Here, you’ve done this before. This sucks. This is dumb.’ There’s no soft landing with Tabby, and that’s fine. both dedicated their first novels to her, so it means a lot.”

On the current TV shows he enjoys: “‘Justified,’‘Bates Motel,’‘The Walking Dead.’ The best show of the year is ‘The Americans.’ I don’t watch ‘Mad Men.’ I think it’s basically soap opera, and if I want soap opera, I watch ‘Revenge.’ That show is crazy, but they have great clothes.”

On whether he thinks he’ll be popular beyond his lifetime: “Well, you really can’t worry about it. … Fantasy has a better chance of lasting than a lot of other things. ‘The Hobbit’ and the Narnia books … because they’re set in a fantasy world, they can remain relevant. So maybe things like ‘Salem’s Lot’ and ‘The Shining’ might last, the Dark Tower books. … The idea of posterity for a writer is poison. … You do the best you can.”

On his main reason to keep writing: “The major job is still to entertain people. ‘Joyland’ really took off for me when the old guy who owns the place says, ‘Never forget, we sell fun.’ That’s what we’re supposed to do — writers, filmmakers, all of us. That’s why they let us stay in the playground.”

Pick up a copy of this Sunday’s print edition of The Mercury, available at these newssstands, to read more, and also find out who won week 1 of our Stash the Cash contest, in which you could win $10,000!